Uesugi-san
by Tusk Act IV
Summary: ...goes grocery shopping.


**Disclaimer: I own neither the series nor the characters.**

* * *

While it was never explicitly written down in any form of contract or part of their vows, whenever the weekend rolled by, Fuutarou made it a custom to go shopping with his wife.

Today, as well, they had arrived in a large supermarket that was a ten-minute drive from their apartment.

"Ne, Uesugi-san, what would you like for dinner tonight?"

"Hmm." Fuutarou stroked his chin, tilting his head slightly. In the back of his head, the jingle of a new ramen shop that had played on the radio on the way here rang once more. "I feel like eating Japanese food today."

"Okay." The woman next to him nodded, the ribbon on top of her head bopping along with the motion. "I heard it'd be chilly tonight so let's have some chicken dumpling hotpot."

"Is that even Japanese?"

"Isn't Japanese just food made by the people here? Hotpot's pretty Japanese-y."

"That's true. Then we'll have to buy a lot of vegetables."

As someone who had grown up in poverty, Fuutarou had been shocked to see just how expensive "living healthy" was on their coffers. Why were a bunch of seeds and leaves more expensive than meat that could actually fill your stomach?

"That's right! Just leave it to me to pick the best ones!" Her arms went to her hips as her chest puffed up with pride which got a smile from the man.

"I will." With words of confidence, he pushed the cart to the vegetable area of the supermarket section. HIs wife walked next to him, her hands behind her back.

Since he was in charge of all the physical work such as pushing the cart and carrying the bags, it was still her who was in charge of picking what items to buy. It would be an odd reversal to those who knew the two as his wife was normally much more physically fit than the husband while the husband's eyes were sharper than the wife's yet they were content with the current situation.

Fuutarou was able to squeeze in some physical activity while she was able to challenge her observation skills.

Even after all these years, they were both still teaching the other.

When they reached the vegetable section, his adorable wife immediately made her way to the leafy produce. She pulled out an old and worn ring notepad, bringing it close to her face as she read through a certain page.

"For vegetables, we need carrots, Chinese cabbages, then for later..."

Fuutarou watched as she picked up vegetables and placed them one after another into their cart. Compared to months back, she didn't even need a second glance to tell which head of cabbage or piece of carrot she wanted to get. It seemed Nino did teach her well.

"Oh, if it isn't Uesugi-san?"

Hearing his name called out, Fuutarou turned to look for a familiar face that could have called him out but failed to. It was then that a middle-aged woman walked past him and spoke to the one she had actually referred to, her tone friendly.

"Hello, Uesugi-san. To think you were here."

"Ah, Shinozaki-san. Yahello!"

Uesugi Yotsuba, who finally noticed the existence of the woman, returned the greeting albeit a little hurried. She was able to hide her surprise fast enough though as the woman didn't seem bothered by her initial ignorance.

It was only after hearing her name that Fuutarou connected the dots of the identity of the stranger. Shinozaki was the name of a family who lived in the same apartment as them. He sometimes met with the husband when both left for work in the morning but it was the first time, he had met the wife.

"Oh, and you must be Uesugi-san's husband?" Shinozake turned her attention to him which Fuutarou returned with a polite smile.

"Yes. It's nice to meet you."

"Same." The woman turned her gaze back to Yotsuba then to Fuutarou then to their cart. She sighed as her hand cupped her cheek. "For a couple to go shopping on their day off, I'm jealous. Right now, my husband is lying on the sofa in our living room. I wish he'd learn a lesson to you."

"Um, thank you?"

Not noticing or just ignoring Fuutarou's awkwardness, Shinozaki walked closer to then, taking a glance into the cart in front of him. A critical eye that only a housewife of many years could have scrutinized each ingredient.

After a tense moment and a small nod, the older woman turned back to Yotsuba who Fuutarou knew was sweating the whole time from the impromptu exam.

"I wonder if Uesugi-san will have hot pot tonight."

"Yes!" Yotsuba nodded, fists close to her chest. "I was thinking of chicken dumpling hotpot actually."

"That's nice. I wonder if I should cook hot pot as well." Shinozaki nodded before sighing. "But then again, I'm not sure if I want to eat that much. You're only two people Uesugi-san so the pot wouldn't be that big, at least."

"Well, it's certainly a good size." The pot they owned was actually good enough to feed three people. Naturally, the one who gifted it to them, Itsuki, used it whenever she came over to visit.

"You have to be careful with the size, Uesugi-san. If you two have a child in the future, you won't have enough time to look for a bigger pot. Trust me, I thought our old one was sufficient but you won't believe how much children could eat."

"I'll...remember that."

Blushing slightly at the implication of a future child, Yotsuba continued to politely chat with the older woman who, for Fuutarou, was a bit too chatty compared to her quiet husband who preferred silent nods. He watched the two patiently as the polite husband he needed to be, preferring not to interject into the conversation.

It was only then that he noticed what he had felt was slightly off.

'That's right. For Shinozaki-san. Yotsuba is Uesugi-san.'

They had only gotten to know the woman after they had gotten married and moved into the apartment after all. So, for her, she didn't know anything about a Nakano Yotsuba.

_'Only Uesugi Yotsuba...'_

An odd feeling filled Fuutarou's chest at the realization, one warm yet oddly disconcerting. It's been almost half a year since they've gotten married and yet, once again, it still felt nice to have such a married couple feeling with his wife.

**LINE**

* * *

"Uesugi-san."

It was Yotsuba who brought up the topic one day a few weeks into their engagement. She looked over to him as she leaned on the table that was covered with planners of designs of cakes, weddings, etc.

Having four quint sisters would do that.

"Once we're married and I'll enter your family register, that means I'll be Uesugi Yotsuba. It's okay, right?"

Yotsuba sudden declaration got Fuutarou to stop his browsing. While he'd honestly wanted a break from choosing what color should the tablecloth in the reception should be (the cheapest he'd always say), this wasn't a topic he was that comfortable talking about.

He sighed as he closed the planner, his eyes momentarily closing before turning to his fiancée, serious.

"I still think you should reconsider, Yotsuba. I told you, I wouldn't mind taking up your family name instead."

They had actually gotten into an argument about this previously. For Fuutarou, there were just too many reasons why it'd be better if they went with her name.

First being that his family's name was still associated with his father's debt. It had drastically decreased recently but he was sure that even after his family had finished paying it off, the stigma and their names would still be there.

Next was that none of the sisters had a brother. Their father was fairly prestigious so it'd be a shame if the Nakano name died off. Much more than his own.

However, both of those were trivial compared to the real reason.

"You worry too much, Uesugi-san." Yotsuba chided him with a wag of a finger. "Father will just adopt someone to carry on the Nakano name if he really wanted to."

"I wouldn't bet on that..." The guy didn't even same like he was attending the wedding but Yotsuba continued.

"Uesugi-san is the eldest son of your family. When Raiha-chan gets married-" They both shuddered at the thought. "She'll let go of the name and so you need to be the one to continue it."

"You know I don't care-"

"But I do."

A pause.

The apartment is silent once more as Yotsuba turned her gaze down to the planners once more. A wistful smile was on her face as her eyes went through each one.

Four planners greeted her, each one filled with different ideas and suggestions. No doubt some of these were already filled in before the proposal. No doubt some of these were the makers' own wishes that they wanted their sister to have.

If they couldn't do it, then let her be the one to.

"You know, Uesugi-san. The moment I agreed to your proposal; I had already decided that I wanted to truly become an Uesugi."

"But..."

Yotsuba shook her head, not letting her fiancé finish. In the end, they were perhaps too alike when it came to prioritizing people's happiness over their own.

"I'd be lying if I said that it didn't hurt, to be the first to change my name. Deep inside, I don't want to lose this connection with my sisters. I'll be the first to not be part of the "Nakano sisters" but then again, it wouldn't be the first time I started a trend."

Still keeping her gaze down, the woman brushed the top of her head, a thin hand momentarily flattening a green ribbon.

Fuutarou didn't reply. Instead, he just waited for the girl he had fallen in love with to finish. The same girl who would always put her sisters before herself, that would always choose the path that had all of them together even if it cost her own happiness.

For her to give up her name, her direct link to the sisters she loved would have been the hardest thing. Should have been but, then again, perhaps even if Nakano Yotsuba would always give up what she wanted, the answer to 'for whom?' wouldn't always be her sisters.

If he thought about it, this was almost like the first time they had met, only they were much older, not in a school cafeteria, and he wasn't infringing her personal space.

But now it was he who was waiting for her to look at him.

"But..." Eventually, after what could have been a second or an hour, resolute blue eyes stared back into his own as warm hands wrapped around his.

"I want to be the wife of the person who asked me to be part of his family. To be another of those lights I've always watched by myself."

After declaring that, Yotsuba averted her gaze back down to her lap, her cheeks pink.

"I... I mean, either Uesugi or Nakano is fine but...I just thought "Uesugi Yotsuba" makes it sound more real. I'm not really that smart so maybe I'll wake up and think I'm just dreaming if I don't have at least that much as proof..."

"..."

"After all, I wonder if I'm just being too selfish..."

The woman was so caught up in rambling that she missed the genuine smile that grew on the face of the person across her.

"That's right. It is pretty selfish." Yotsuba jumped a little in her seat, not expecting him to agree. "But then again, didn't I promise you that you could be as selfish as you want with me?"

Hands that she had been holding slipped out and wrapped around her own. She looked up to see the man she had fallen in love with looking at her, only at her, with those piercing dark eyes.

"Yotsuba, this is what you want, right?

"Ah...um." She nodded, demure which got a confident small grin from the man.

"Then let's do that."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Th..thanks, Uesugi-san."

"Shouldn't it be Fuutarou, now?"

"N-no way! Uesugi-san is Uesugi-san!"

"Uesugi-san? I've been shaking you for a while now. What's wrong?"

"Ah..." Fuutarou blinked out of his reverie, his wife's voice bringing him back to the present. When he looked around, he noticed Shinozaki-san was already gone. Also, the cart was half-full.

Had he been in auto-mode this whole time?

"Sorry, where's Shinozaki-san?"

"She already left to the cash register. She said she didn't want to leave her husband alone with their children for too long."

"Is that so?"

"...She surely loves her husband. I've met her kids and they're real monsters." Yotsuba placed a pack of chopsticks into the cart, smiling. "By the way, what were you thinking about back there? It's rare to see Uesugi-san so...out of it."

"I remembered the time we talked about you accepting my last name."

"Eh? Where did that come from?"

"It's because Shinozaki-san called you Uesugi-san. I have to say I was surprised." admitted Fuutarou as he slowly pushed the cart through the aisle, side by side with Yotsuba. He turned to her; her eyes quizzical. "It's already been half a year since then, but you're still not used to it?"

Not like he was anyways.

"Ahaha. I'm not fully used to it yet. I still write Nakano whenever I fill out a form then I'd have to rewrite it again." It was only his wife that could admit her mistakes with a huge smile on her face. "Shinozaki-san just surprised me that's all. I couldn't react well."

"I see."

"That's right. It will still take more practice before I can truly become Uesugi Yotsuba."

Suddenly, Yotsuba felt a hand on her head.

"Idiot. There's no need to think like that. I fell in love with Nakano Yotsuba. You're already my wife no matter what."

"Uesugi-san..."

"I'm truly lucky to have such a lovely wife."

Having said that, Fuutarou leaned down to peck his wife on the cheek only to find his face blocked by her hand. through her delicate fingers, he could see pink cheeks puffed out.

"Uesugi-san, you're being too bold in such a public place."

"...right." He had always found it odd how Yotsuba was generous with displays of affection if it was directed to him yet when it was to her she'd blush and shy away.

Yotsuba proved his thoughts as she then grabbed one arm and hugged it close to her chest, clinging on to him tightly which Fuutarou would argue was more embarrassing than a quick kiss on the cheek.

Even now, he could feel his ears turn red from the stares and whispers of the people around them about the "lovey dovey couple.

"Let's just continue when we get back home, okay?" Yotsuba chirped, her mouth curled mischievously.

"...Hmph. Alright."

"Then let's finish the groceries soon. I want to continue our date, _anata_~"

If he wasn't red back then, he surely was now. It was like a bolt of lightning had struck through his body. Fuutarou turned his head to the side as Yotsuba moved her own closer, practically rubbing her cheek on his arm.

"Now who is the one being too bold?"

"Ahahaha..."

"Fuhahaha..."

Laughter trailed the cart of the lovey dovey newlyweds as they both tried to finish the shopping as quickly as possible, arm in arm. Whatever names or titles they had didn't matter as long as they could still call each other husband and wife.

"By the way, Yotsuba. You didn't think that I wouldn't notice you slipping in all these packs of candy, did you?"

"M-mercy, Uesugi-san!"

"...Just one, then.

* * *

**AN: Short Yotsuba fic for fellow Yotsubros. This was actually an old fic repurposed to be Yotsuba and Fuutarou.**

**If you were to ask me how the proposal went, they had another date at the park and Fuutarou gave her another set of flashcards that had translated to "Will you marry me?". The ring that held them together would be the engagement ring. Once she realizes it, they'll do a whole "Do you want a life as friends or a life together?" as a callback to how they met.**

**I kinda want to write it out but am too lazy.**


End file.
